The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

As Mother's Day approaches this year, many people will face the dilemma of coming up with the "perfect" gift for their mother. There will be millions of sales both on and off line aimed at consumers looking to purchase that perfect present. As a mother, I can honestly say, the perfect gift is not usually something that can be bought. Usually, the perfect gifts are a special moment or time to be remembered. They are something that comes directly from the heart of the gift giver, and make a beeline straight to the heart of the recipient. Let me give you some examples of the perfect gift, one that cost a little money, and one that was absolutely free and maybe then you will see, no one can sell you the perfect gift, because the perfect gift is truly wrapped with heartstrings not bows.

The first "perfect" gift that I received for Mother's Day was when my son was in Kindergarten. He came home from school packing a very wilted flower in a milk carton, and a big laminated "card" that contained his handprints. When I picked him up from school that day, both were stuffed gently into his backpack, which I did not know yet. As we walked to the car, he laughed and giggled telling me about his day, and that he had a "prize" for me in his backpack. When we got to the car, and he pulled it out of his little backpack the flower had spilled out into the bottom of his backpack. When I saw the tears in his little eyes, and saw how disappointed he was that his gift was "spoiled". I knew it was a mother's day I would never forget. I scooped up the flower put it back in the little milk carton, and we planted it together. The smiles and laughs while we planted that little broken flower were worth more than any amount of money in the world, and the "card" still hangs on my refrigerator today, and my son is nine now.

The second "perfect" gift I received was the next Mother's Day. My husband got a call at nine o'clock at night from his employer. She ran a large farm, in addition to the nursing home that he was employed at. She had a large crop on the ground, the people she had hired to get it to the barn had not shown up, and she needed someone quick that she could rely on to get it done. My husband started getting ready, I told him to come back to bed, that it was stupid, we needed the money, but not that bad. He never said anything other than he had to go. When he finally got home about 2 hours before daylight the next morning, he had a small necklace in his hand. It had a simulated ruby and simulated diamond pendant. In all actuality it probably cost about thirty dollars at the local Wal-Mart. But, when he woke me up and handed it to me, and told me that was why he had to go because he did not have anything or the money to buy anything for me or my mother in law for mothers day the next day, it could not have meant more if it had been a two carat diamond.

As Mother's Day approaches this year, and everyone begins the frantic rush to find that perfect gift, I am not rushing. I hope my family is not out rushing around spending money they don't have. I hope they can truly understand, the "perfect" Mother's Day gift that they are searching for is just a little bit of time, a moment, a "broken" flower, or a cheap necklace. Any of these things can be the perfect gift, as long as they come with the sentiment that we women as mothers cherish more than anything.